Russia/ 5.1 General legislation

5.1.4 Social security frameworks

There are no specific advantages for artists as far as social security is concerned, who are the subjects of general legal acts concerned with social welfare, unemployment, pensions, etc. As during the Socialist past, most of the artists are still employed by state institutions or receive state commissions.

The newly gained freedom of "liberal" professions partly deprived them of the former security provided within the powerful Artists' Unions. Today the latter have become a special type of professional organisation providing for associating and social protection. In the early 2000s, fruitless efforts were made to produce a special legal framework for artists by adopting the Law on Creative Workers in Literature and Arts and on their Creative Unions, which has twice passed through the Parliament and has been twice declined by the President. The Artists' Unions have the right to establish their own labour exchange and Funds to support retired or unemployed members.

Efforts have been made to support artists in their old age, from individual life-long Presidential grants for prominent artists or stipends from regional governments to special supporting schemes for members of artists' unions (see chapter 8.1).

See also comparative information provided in the Compendium "Themes!" section under "Status of Artists".

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